Rollin' Low And Clean

Lonnie Allbritton has an inspirational story for all mini-truckers to take into account. This Antifreeze Green '90 Mazda B2200, believe it or not, is Lonnie's first truck buildup. Ever since he was a kid, Lonnie loved and drew mini-trucks, so he decided to build one up to par with his creative sketchings and imagination. After plenty of practice modifications on mini-bikes and other toys, Lonnie turned his talent loose on the Mazda he purchased on December 6, 1998.

Lonnie knew he'd need to solicit help to make his dream into a reality. He partnered with his father Lonnie Sr., and they began to cut up the suspension. After laying the Mazda's frame flat on the ground via a ladder-bar setup in the rear and Firestone 'bags coupled with Herion valves all the way around, Lonnie realized that he wanted to go even lower. So, he jumped in headfirst and decided to body-drop it. For the body drop and body modifications, Lonnie went to Sean Ornduff. Sean body-dropped the Mazda 2-3/4 inches, which laid the body flat on the ground. Sean and Lonnie then attacked the body by shaving every single factory annoyance that was nagging the owner and interrupting the smooth look Lonnie had planned for his Mazda.

After Lonnie and Sean worked the metal to its current smooth state, Jimmy and Joe Swants began the body's finish work in preparation for paint. Once it was all to their liking, they sprayed the Mazda with a bright DuPont color appropriately named Antifreeze Green. The interior and stereo were the next items that needed attending to. Lonnie tackled the stereo system himself, installing three JL 15-inch subs and Kicker amplifiers to really rumble the cab space. Once Lonnie was done inside, Player Custom Interior wrapped his '92 Acura buckets with diamond-tucked black and gray leather. Lonnie loved the old-school diamond-tucked look so much, he named his Mazda Diamond Tucked (not to mention the fact that he rolls with the Diamond crew, Severed Ties).

The major encouragement in this story is not only that Lonnie tackled most of the truck's buildup on his own with the help of his dad and some friends, but also that this truck was once an under-construction primered beauty. If you go back to the MT Jan. '02 issue, you'll see Lonnie's Mazda featured in the Construction Zone. Some refer to this section as "the graveyard" because once you lie there, you don't leave. Lonnie proved that with some determination and dedication, along with a good group of buddies and family backing you up, you can pull your truck from the primered wastelands into the glory of a trophy-winning and fully featured body-dragging machine. So take a lesson learned and go finish your truck. Check out the lowdown for the down-and-dirty details on Lonnie's diamond tucker.